Henry Moore, Large Two Forms, 1966-69

Henry Moore, Large Two Forms, 1966-69
Bronze, 2 from an edition of 4, Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, Gift of the artist and Roy R. and Marie S. Neuberger, 1974.38.01

Now positioned prominently at the entrance to the Purchase College campus, Large Two Forms serves as both a gateway and a landmark. Cast in bronze and standing over twelve feet tall, the sculpture greets students, faculty, staff, and visitors alike with a powerful yet inviting presence. Alumni still fondly refer to the sculpture as a focal point of their memories on the new and still-developing campus.

This cast is the second of four in the Large Two Forms series and was acquired through a special collaboration between the artist and Roy and Marie Neuberger, who regarded Moore as one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century.

Moore’s practice was deeply rooted in the human form, nature, and the material qualities of bronze and stone. His post-war public commissions—often heroic in scale—reflected a humanist vision of resilience and renewal.

Large Two Forms echos his lifelong fascination with organic shapes and the voids between them. Its hollowed-out spaces—what Moore called “internal forms”—invite viewers to see through and around the work, allowing for shifting perceptions as one moves. Moore preferred his works to live in landscapes—among trees, sky, and people—rather than within the confines of galleries. As with his other sculptures, Large Two Forms is intended to evolve with the light, seasons, and motion of those who pass by.

The installation of Large Two Forms at Purchase is part of a larger Hudson Valley legacy of Moore’s work. Just across the street, the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden at PepsiCo features four additional monumental works by Moore. Others can be found nearby at the Kykuit Estate in Sleepy Hollow and in major collections throughout New York and the region, making Purchase College not just a campus, but a point on the map in Moore’s global legacy.